Woolly Bear forecast

I remember as a child my mom telling me to check the Wolly Bear caterpillars in the fall to determine how bad the impending winter will be.

Now with fall upon us and these creatures are back in full force, I wanted to revisit that concept.

Wolly Bears are the larval form of the Isabella Tiger Moth.

It was discovered back in 1948 by Dr. C. H. Curran, the curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, that there is a correlation between the amount of brown in the Wolly Bear and the intensity of the winter. The more the brown, the milder the winter and narrow brown segments predict harsh winters.

So what does this little guy pictured above have to say about the upcoming winter?